Thursday, November 24, 2016

A small family with big hearts, dreams and the strongest of work ethics reach an even bigger community through the animals they raise and the foods that they sell. Beef, pigs, chickens, eggs, sheep and turkeys-all raised humanely, free range and chemical free on their West Virginia farm-then processed in their USDA plant and sold in their own farm store. . . it's a 15 hour a day project, 7 days a week. Then there's outreach through Farmers Markets and restaurant sales. Other farmers bring their animals to the plant for processing and the devoted customers grow even bigger. There seems to be no stopping the Hardesty family and their work at the Working H Farms. But it's never easy. Sickness and sometimes excessive demands rear yet they make it through, with even more satisfied customers than before. Small business supports an extended community. . . and we support them.

I get a message early Monday morning (Thanksgiving Week) asking for help at the store. Two of the six regular staff will not be in and 200 turkeys plus are ordered. Four relief staff quickly respond and the work continues. I get the easy job, working the front of the store, taking calls, waiting on customers and organizing. The professionals tackle the turkey processing line.

The work continues, ice baths, trimming, weighing, vacuum packing and tagging. One of the most tedious parts of the process was matching a specific turkey and weight to the customer who ordered. Think about it, finding a 16.27 pound turkey in a cold cooler with a couple hundred turkeys can't be easy, yet making a game of it made it fun.

Less than 24 hours after the turkeys walked cage free they were delivered to customers to place in their home refrigerators ready for the Thursday meal.

My friend Becky made delicious homemade rolls and Black Cherry Jello. The black cherry dish was Luke's Grandmothers' recipe that "cleaned the palate" and was a delicious alternative to cranberry sauce.

The potato recipe was inspired by Food and Wine Magazine, a make-ahead recipe assembled, then baked prior to the meal.

Mashed Potato Casserole

(Serves 8)

Combine potatoes and water to cover by 2 inch in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook 12 minutes. Drain and transfer to a mixing bowl.

Friday, November 18, 2016

I'm a local and seasonal food fan, so when asked if I'd like a copy of Beth Dooley's farm to fork book, "In Winter's Kitchen" I replied a quick yes! In the book, Beth personalizes the path from farm to fork with chapters on 12 foods and the farmers who grow them. "When we look for local ingredients at the farmers markets, we create friendships that extend well beyond zip codes." "Farmers need to link with cooks and eaters."

Our dinner tonight has eggs and pork from a local farm family, where animals are freely

walking outside. The buckwheat flour in the homemade pasta was freshly ground at a nearby farm.

Buckwheat Pasta with Pork & Greens

(4 Servings)

Dough

In mixer with dough hook in place, mix flours and salt. Add eggs and oil. Knead for 5 minutes. Wrap dough ball in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup & 2 tablespoon buckwheat flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon olive oil

Divide dough in half. Flatten dough and run through pasta maker to a 1/16th thickness. Cut in 2 inch strip, then cut strip in 2 1/2 inch squares, then triangles. Lay on parchment paper and repeat with remaining dough. Cover top layer with paper.

Bring salted water to a rapid boil. Cook 1/2 of pasta for 3 minutes. Drain and cook remainder.

Topping

Sauté garlic in oil. Add tenderloin to one side of pan. Add beaten egg to another side of the pan and scramble. Add greens to garlic and wilt. Warm pasta triangles in skillet with topping.

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Ginger and brown sugar pork tenderloin with apples over creamy cheddar polenta sounds like the perfect autumn supper. . . and it was! The recipe was inspired by Fine Cooking Magazine. I cooked the pork in my counter-top pressure cooker, then added the apples for the last 15 minutes. While the apples cooked, I cooked the polenta on stove top, set the table and ate with only 1 hour of total cooking and preparation time.

Pork Tenderloin, Apples & Polenta

(4 Servings)

Place juice, vinegar and Mrs. Dash in counter top pressure cooker. Add trimmed tenderloin. Press brown sugar into top of tenderloin.

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Crisp fall weather and the end to daylight savings time led to this comforting autumn meal with mulled apple flank steak with Yorkshire pudding. The steak was marinated with apple juice and seasonings, then poured over vegetables in a Dutch oven to roast. After pulling the Dutch oven, I increased the temperature to 450 F. to make the popovers.

Saturday, November 5, 2016

On this last outdoor farmers market of the season we featured Chili Con Carne with Apples at our culinary demo. I'd planned to feature a Beef Chili at the November Market, when I was challenged by one of the farmers to "do something with apples". Not a problem, since apples go well with chili. This chili has diced apples and apple juice right in the soup! The aroma of the hot soup circled the market, and even the customers at 8:30 am did not hesitate to give it a try. The chili was made with:

Grass fed, chemical free cows.

Pinto beans, dried on the vines in Terra Alta, West Virginia.

Produce from farmers committed to organic practices

That special ingredient-apples-from a local farm

Aged cheddar cheese garnish, a local artisan cheese.

I made 4 batches of this recipe, serving some 170 customers 3 ounce servings:

To my delight, the children of the market attendees loved the recipe!

The water infused with apples, cinnamon and nutmeg was also a hit, even on this cool day!

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

A crunchy blend of "autumn" lentils and local goat cheese built shells full of protein, texture and deliciousness. The recipe was inspired by Canadian Lentils. I was so happy to get a hard copy of the magazine at FNCE, as digital versions of books and newsletters sometimes go unopened.

Lentils, Chevre & Bella Vita Stuffed Shells

(Serves 3)

Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil. Stir in greens to wilt. Remove from heat.

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The Meal Planner

After years of planning meals for 1000+, I'm having a ton of fun planning meals for two. I remain active in the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, teach in the lifelong learning program and conduct farmers market culinary demos during the outdoors season.